REDAN sets up c’ttte to enhanced housing delivery

REDAN President, Rev. Ugo Chukwu said that the reason for the setting up of the committee is to find the easiest way to achieve affordable housing for Nigerians.He noted that there is massive unemployment and the economy is on a near state of collapse, adding that the housing sector presents a good platform for revamping […]

REDAN President, Rev. Ugo Chukwu said that the reason for the setting up of the committee is to find the easiest way to achieve affordable housing for Nigerians.
He noted that there is massive unemployment and the economy is on a near state of collapse, adding that the housing sector presents a good platform for revamping our economy.
He said that REDAN aimed to ensure that there is availability and affordability of housing as a tool for national growth and employment and contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He said, “Many developers are idle, so many of the institutions and departments are talking of reducing their staff`s strength because there are no businesses to be done. That is what we have come to do today and I want to thank all the stakeholders that came as they all presented very good documents that would move the sector forward.”
He said that the government has not deemed it necessary to implement some of the provisions of the National Housing Fund and the revised National Pension Fund, saying the implementation is necessary to ensure that the money value at the point of contribution is comparable to the value to the value of the money at the time of retirement.
 “If you contribute money, the value of the money at the point of contribution is not comparable to the value of the money at the point of retirement. You will find out that inflation have eaten up the money. What you are getting at the point of retirement as pension funds and retirement savings account is only a negligible percentage in terms of its purchasing power. We are saying that you don’t have to have saved income for this person when you divert the same amount of money into the capital market for the use of the rich. If we can invest in food without Nigerian begging in the streets why must we allowe Nigerians to be homeless and live in the squatter settlements before we restructured and reformed the housing sector and then inject the needed funds; that is why we say that in the National Housing Fund (NHF), there are supposed to be four sources of contributors to that fund, but it is only a source and that has been the workers. The banks are supposed to contribute, federal government is supposed to contribute and the insurance companies are supposed to contribute. These three are not contributing and the burden is left on the Nigerian workers alone and it is not fair,” said the REDAN president.